SEASONS OF LOVE
Chapter Nine
It was several days before the mystery of
Andrew’s words was solved. Not long after the funeral, we gathered in the
parlor while the will was read. Andrew Junior—now known only as Andrew—had a
properly mournful look on his face, but I sensed something else going on
beneath the surface of that calm exterior, something that did not bode well for
me or my children.
The other children’s grief was genuine,
although Ellie sat in confusion in my lap, not quite understanding what had
happened, or why everyone was so sorrowful. John Robert also clung to me, his
eyes wide and sad.
The lawyer looked genuinely distressed as he
opened the will, glancing nervously at me from time to time. I wasn’t sure what
those looks meant until he read the will.
Andrew’s mournful look disappeared and a
pleased smirk grew on his face as the will was read, while my heart sank. My
husband had left everything to his eldest son, leaving the house in my care
until he married.
*****
When the lawyer had left, Andrew’s smirk grew
into an unpleasant smile. "Well, Rose," he began. "It looks like
my father wasn’t the fool you took him for."
"No," I responded coolly, refusing
to show him how distressed I was. "He wasn’t a fool at all."
He looked slightly disconcerted at this, as
though he had expected me to argue with him, perhaps even contest the will. He
quickly recovered, however, and went on.
"I think that now is a good time to tell
all of you that I have proposed to my girlfriend, Mary Ellen, and she has
accepted. The wedding is next month."
The children clamored around him, pleased and
excited by the news. All of them were fond of Mary Ellen, a pretty, friendly
girl from a well-to-do family in town. I had liked her, too, until now,
although I highly doubted that she knew anything of the conflict between her
fiancé and me.
Setting Ellie down, I told myself to remain
calm. Simply because Andrew was marrying did not mean that there would be no
place for me or my children. Surely he did not mean to separate his brothers
and sisters, or to send away the woman that all of them called mother.
His next words, however, dashed my hopes.
"Your stepmother has already informed that she will be leaving after the
wedding, taking John Robert and Ellie with her."
Everyone turned to stare at me in shock.
Angry, I opened my mouth to defend myself, but Andrew went on before I could
say a word.
"I must say that I don’t understand why
she is doing this, but perhaps the will was not to her liking."
"Why should the will matter?"
Louisa asked, her twelve-year-old mind not comprehending the meaning of her
brother’s words.
"Why do you think?" Richard asked
her, eyeing me in disgust. He, too, had had some difficulty accepting me when I
first came, but had later come to accept me whole-heartedly. I could tell by
his expression that he felt betrayed, and that he believed his brother above
anything I might say to defend myself.
"As you all know, Mary Ellen is only
eighteen, much too young to run a household full of children close in age to
herself. Therefore, in light of your stepmother’s news, Richard will be
transferring to a university in New York, and Ben, Sarah, and Louisa will be
enrolled in boarding school."
At this, there was a cry of protest from the
children. "Boarding school!" Sarah cried. "Father promised that
we would never be sent away from home. He promised that when Mama died."
Andrew shook his head, giving them a sad look
that didn’t fool me for a minute. "I’m sure that he meant that, too. But
things are different now. Father is gone, and your stepmother is leaving. Mary
Ellen is too young to take charge of all of you. I wish that things were
different, but they aren’t."
I could feel the older children pulling away
from me, expressions of hurt and betrayal on their faces. They believed what
their brother implied—that I had married their father for his money, and now
that he was gone I had no interest in them. It was a terrible blow, coming so
soon after their father’s death, and nothing I could say would make things
better.